New Governance in European Social Policy

Is the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) an effective and legitimate tool in European social policy-making? Milena Büchs analyses the goals and instruments of the OMC, discusses approaches which theorize its functioning, examines its policy content and develops a framework for its evaluation. Through the examination of a case study the author demonstrates how policy actors apply the OMC in employment in Germany and the United Kingdom. The book concludes that the OMC pursues contradictory goals and is unlikely to achieve them simultaneously.

MILENA BÜCHS is Lecturer in Social Policy at the University of Southampton.

Introduction * PART I: THE OPEN METHOD OF COORDINATION * Examining New Governance * The ‘Third Way’ in European Social Policy * PART II: MEMBER STATE RESPONSES * Institutions and Actors * Responses in Germany and the United Kingdom * PART III: EVALUATION * Framework * Effectiveness * Legitimacy * Conclusion